GRiSO, Gravel, & More

I rode back home from Erie yesterday -- on my GRiSO -- following my f-i-l’s 99th birthday party on Saturday.

My route:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


That includes Frozen Toe Road, etc.; 11.5 unpaved miles with some occasionally large nasty gravel, including stretches of softball-sized river rocks!  Likely child's play for many here, at least on proper machines, but it scared me feceless on the GRiSO.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
 

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


After that lengthy -- felt endless but gravel does that to me -- off-pavement run, I got to a built-up area and refueled.  I put my helmet and ATGATT on a picnic bench and started the GRiSO to move it nearby.  

What?!?!?  

The sound scared me more than the gravel did.  

I recall -- and may even had posted it here -- an incident at a local gas station when, upon pulling in, a man came running over to me and started screaming "SHUT IT OFF ... IT'S ABOUT TO BLOW!"  He said he was a mechanic and the engine was self-destructing.  As all he heard was typical 8v chatter, I explained to him -- who never quite believed me -- that "they all do that."

Well, this did not seem to be that.  I decided (or, more accurately, hoped) that it might have gotten hot from that off-pavement, slow-going stretch in high temps shortly before, so I let it cool while I tightened a loose aux light to its mount.  Still, I called a new Guzzi dealer about 70 miles away -- [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] -- to see if I might tow it there if needed.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


OBTW, I had experienced no noticeable loss of power and no lights blazed.  Oil seemed to be pretty much as I had started out on the ride up to Erie the week before, i.e., smack between the F/L marks.  It was also pretty much the same "honey" color.

So, I did the Guzzisti thing -- "Just ride it!" -- and decided to go on.  Started it up.  No untoward noise.  Ran in typical stupandous fashion the rest of the way of 200 or so miles.  


[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


Bill

Mr.Bill, your "adventures" are giving me gray hairs!

Another exciting day in the life of a GRiSO owner  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I hate gravel as well. Imagine my horror when I was in France riding in the mountains and found out they had 'repaired' certain hairpin turns by dumping a shitload of gravel on them  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


ps. I've been riding on sand roads such as these on occasion for work. Makes for a real adventure especially when it rains. The GRiSO is versatile enough to make it work but I can't really recommend it. You really have to avoid the larger holes and bumps.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Have you done the sump spacer gasket swap yet Bill? If not now would seem to be the time.

Gravel = fun but that's me! The Sport has some fairly wide bars that also assist.

Around me they do what's called "chip and seal". Basically spray oil/tar and spread gravel on it. It can get pretty interesting pretty fast if you're not expecting it. The road service folks did this on one of my favorite roads earlier this year. Like riding on ball bearings. Sever pucker up for 15 miles or so. Couple weeks to brush off the loose gravel and it's just like a regular road again.

Makes a gravel or dirt road feel like a race track.

Bill, glad it ended well.

Great pictures and a great story, as usual, Bill. And on top of all that you discovered a NEW Guzzi Dealer??? That is a super-rare event, comparable to discovering a bird species never observed before on these lands.

@ Pete: Is the oil pan gasket replacement something that all GRiSO-owners sooner or later (better sooner) will have to carry out to prevent disaster? Or would you consider it optional ("preventive maintenance")?

1100’s don’t seem to suffer from the problem, maybe because the gallery where the gasket blows out is smaller but I’m not sure. We now routinely replace the gasket if we are rollerising an 8V and suggest it be done on all 8V’s prior to 2015 Grisos with the 1400 sump.

tazio wrote:

Mr.Bill, your "adventures" are giving me gray hairs!

Understand.  My lowest sphincter just relaxed a few hours ago.    

motor-timothy wrote:

Another exciting day in the life of a GRiSO owner  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I hate gravel as well. Imagine my horror when I was in France riding in the mountains and found out they had 'repaired' certain hairpin turns by dumping a shitload of gravel on them  

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

ps. I've been riding on sand roads such as these on occasion for work. Makes for a real adventure especially when it rains. The GRiSO is versatile enough to make it work but I can't really recommend it. You really have to avoid the larger holes and bumps.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yes, all such experiences are ... erm ... interesting.  Can't (and don't want to) imagine wet sand for any distance.  Bubbas pulling trailers here do the gravel-in-turns things.  And, after a significant T-storm, the washouts from driveways make it all exciting.

Pete Roper wrote:

Have you done the sump spacer gasket swap yet Bill? If not now would seem to be the time.

Not sure.  Which might as well be code for "no," tho I think Jim Baron did that when he rollerized it.  I think I did, however, order some of the new "thicker" gaskets some months ago, and will check on this issue and drop sump at next oil change.

Oz1200Guzzi wrote:

Gravel = fun but that's me! The Sport has some fairly wide bars that also assist.

Fun?  You are one sick puppy, Tony.  

The GRiSO's bars are also wide and by focusing on "staying loose" and aided by the GRiSO's longish wheelbase, I managed to get through.  There were some stretches of "fun" but more were of near terror.  Very difficult for me to have fun while moving on two wheels through baseball-sized river rocks.

I did feel somewhat better when I read one of the local's comments on Frozen Toe Road:

"I'm glad you made it over Frozen Toe without mishap! We're only a couple of miles south of Leeper and that road is kind of our go-to for testing new knobbies on the dual sports."

ratso88 wrote:

Around me they do what's called "chip and seal". Basically spray oil/tar and spread gravel on it. It can get pretty interesting pretty fast if you're not expecting it. The road service folks did this on one of my favorite roads earlier this year. Like riding on ball bearings. Sever pucker up for 15 miles or so. Couple weeks to  brush off the loose gravel and it's just like a regular road again.

Makes a gravel or dirt road feel like a race track.

Bill, glad it ended well.

Thanks.  I am familiar with C&S.  It's bad enough when signs give you ample notice.  There was a delightful stretch in Alabama on the way to Cheaha S.P. that would get that treatment now and then without a warning whatever.  As you know from your own mention and experience with the stuff, that'll age you a year in about five minutes when you enter C&S at speed in a lean.  

bioman wrote:

Great pictures and a great story, as usual, Bill.  And on top of all that you discovered a NEW Guzzi Dealer???  That is a super-rare event, comparable to discovering a bird species never observed before on these lands.

****

Thanks.  Good analogy, too.  

OBTW, to all, at the scene, I called Rick Pope, Bulldog, and some others for their thoughts about that noise.  All were mystified but helpful.

On return home without, as noted any recurrence, Kathi looked at my post and said: "Bill, maybe it was that loose aux light banging against the fender and fork? You tightened that and the sound stopped, right?"  

Out of the mouths of babes of all ages.  

Bill

Sorry I couldn't be much help. Had you asked about a noise in a John Deere harvester, I might have had a clue. Air cooled twins, especially MG, are pretty new to me. I've been riding mostly Hondas for the past 50+ years.

Thanks for great story & pics Bill (as always !) & you clearly carry a stack more tools on-board than me judging by photo at gas station........anyway & in case it helps, usually doesn't, I have 'once only' had a similar WTF/OMG moment after riding 3 hrs into London (UK variant for our friends in Canada) on extreme hot day with slow traffic. After stopping for a short while & really hard multiple tries restarting the engine went 'mental' (revs, noise etc). It wasn't oil gasket (I did that 20,000 miles later & it was fine), it never happened again.

Pete Roper wrote:

1100’s don’t seem to suffer from the problem, maybe because the gallery where the gasket blows out is smaller but I’m not sure. We now routinely replace the gasket if we are rollerising an 8V and suggest it be done on all 8V’s prior to 2015 Grisos with the 1400 sump.

Thanks Pete!! That is good to know.

I too am not a fan of gravel roads, though I've had to do my share on Gertie, including 30km on a wet gravel logging road with logging trucks coming the other way! My simplistic approach is to engage a gear I reckon will work throughout (usually second unless stretches are relatively smooth and have been recently graded) and try to fiddle with the throttle as little as possible. I don't break any motocross records but I've yet to actually come to grief on the gravel.

They make a different version of GRiSO for gravel.. sorry couldn't resist!

Generally known around these parts as 'Fat GRiSO' Vic.

Pete, that's a perfect moniker. I couldn't have thought of it. It makes sense since GRiSO came first. Come to think of it, makes sense for me too!